USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 25
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Samuel Clayhomes
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agement was always successful. Some idea of the magnitude of these financial affairs is conveyed by the fact that the enlistment committee alone ex- pended one hundred and eight thousand dollars in two years. Mr. Claghorn was also very active in securing those large subscriptions with which the League carried on its work. He devoted his whole time and attention to the business of the organiza- tion, even to the neglect of his own affairs, but he never regretted that devotion, for, as he was after- wards known to remark: "It was a time when a man's first duty was to his country." Many a time when the League was considered in danger he re- mained there with others all night. When peace was finally assured Mr. Claghorn took his long de- layed vacation. He sailed for Europe with his wife on the 1st of November, 1865. Before his departure the esteem in which he was held by his fellow-citi- zens was expressed in numerous testimonials, in the form of complimentary dinners, etc. On one of these occasions it is remembered that T. Buchanan Read recited an original poem, appropriate to the time, and with graceful allusions to the spirited suc- cess through which the country had passed, and Mr. Claghorn's patriotic labors. The European tour lasted two years, and the countries visited in- cluded England, France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Turkey and Egypt. The traveler was not wholly taken up with enjoyment and sight-seeing, amid the natural and the art beauties of Europe, but was mindful of the interests of patriotism, and there is no doubt that to the stimulus he gave the celebration of American holi- days in Paris and Rome is due the more general at- tention given to these matters now in the foreign capitals, where there happen to be large numbers of the citizens of the Republic. After his return from abroad, in 1867, our subject was speedily immersed in business again, but it was in a different line from that in which he had formerly been active. He had been for many years connected with financial institutions, but only in a semi-official capacity-as director of the Philadelphia Bank-but he was now chosen as President of the Commercial National Bank, a position for which he was well fitted, and in which he was retained by successive re-elections until his death. He stood prominent among those who were regarded as the ablest and superb finan- ciers of the city, and maintained the name of the banking house which he controlled as a synonym of conservative strength. It was, however, in art mat- ter that Mr. Claghorn was most widely known. While he was prominent in Philadelphia, by reason of his position in commercial and financial circles, by reason of his patriotism and through his posses-
sion of art treasures and promotion of art institu- tions, his fame as a collector of pictures-a discrim- inating and catholic connoisseur-was world wide. As early as 1850 or thereabouts he was identified with the movement which resulted in establishing the School of Design for Women ; subsequently be- came a director, then Treasurer, and finally was elected President of that institution. He was for a number of years a director of the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, and when Caleb Cope re- signed the Presidency he was looked upon as the best man to fill the vacancy. When pressed to do so by his friend Joseph Harrison, it was character- istic of him that he should make the condition that he did. "If I take the place," said he, "you must give me pecuniary support." "To what extent ?" " Well," said the art lover, "I shall expect you to subscribe ten thousand dollars." It is said Mr. Harrison thought this rather a heavy demand, but he fell in with the suggestion. Mr. Claghorn was duly made President, and the system of financiering begun in so abrupt and off-hand a manner with his friend was continued so efficiently that some twenty- three subscribers of ten thousand dollars each, and seven of five thousand dollars each were secured in six weeks. Not many men possess the tact, or have the command of confidence, to accomplish a feat like this. In this way the fund was raised which placed the Academy upon a sure and prosper- ous basis, and secured for it its handsome and com- modious building. Mr. Claghorn's collection of pictures which, until after his death, was at his home in West Logan Square (where many of the choicest specimens still remain), was for years the Mecca of art pilgrims in America. It contained up- wards of fifty thousand pictures, chiefly engravings and etchings, comprising the finest examples of all schools and nationalities, and a library of several thousand volumes, bearing upon art in all of its branches. The connoisseur began by making a collection of paintings, at one time buying only those by American artists, of which he had over three hundred. Then he sought foreign works, but his chief attention for many years was given to en- gravings, and more particularly towards the close of his life to etchings. He was one of the founders of the American Art Union, which strove to foster these branches of the fine arts, and his personal patronage was of course enormous. He was a gen- uine lover of art, as well as an enthusiastic collector, and he made art minister to his own enjoyment and education and that of his friends, and, also, the gen- eral public. He loved art and surrounded himself with it. About two years after Mr. Claghorn's death the collection of engravings was sold to the
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late T. Harrison Garrett, of Baltimore, but the home of the deceased art lover is still rich in the finest productions of the engraver, ctcher and painter; for the pictures upon the walls of his parlors and gal- lery were not considered as a part of the vast collec- tion proper. At, or about the time of the sale, when a movement was on foot to place the collec- tion intact at the Capitol, where its educational sphere would be National rather than local, one of the Philadelphia papers thus spoke editorially of this great art treasury :
"It represents the intelligent discrimination and critical judgment of Philadelphia's foremost lover of art. Its selections were made by Mr. Claghorn with a carefulness that comes of complete knowl- edge of the history of the engraver's art, and in most instances the specimens are from the rarest and best conditions of the plates. More than two thousand of the world's famous engravers are repre- sented in this magnificent collection, which forms in itself a complete history of engraving. The best examples of the early English, Italian, French, Ger- man and Flemish masters are all here. One hun- dred and eighty Rembrandts, ninety Durers, one hundred Durer woodcuts, seventy-five Marc Anto- nio Raimondis, Lucas Van Leyden, Israel Von Meckenen, full scts of Woollett, Bartolozzi, Eder- linck, Nanteuil, complete sets of Jean George Wille, Sharp, Strange, Martin Schongcaur, only complete set of Seymour Hayden, and many others far too numerous to mention here, composed the long lists of artists whosc works combined to make this col- lection the superior of any in this country and the equal of many abroad. It is also very rich in old English mezzotints, a lost art."
Mr. Claghorn died August 25, 1884, loved, hon- ored and respected, as the man who had always been one of the forcmost in good works; the one who more than any other had given the city of Philadelphia its art impetus, and as the upright, un- selfish and patriotic citizen. Hc left a widow and one son : J. Raymond Claghorn.
JOHN W. FORNEY.
COL. JOHN WEIN FORNEY, who in his time filled a large place in public life and had not only what may be called a familiar famc throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but renown and in- fluence of National breadth as a journalist and poli- tician-the founder of the Philadelphia Press-was born in the city of Lancaster, September 30, 1817. He was the only son of Peter and Margaret Forney ; his paternal grandmother was Susan Carpenter, of an early settled and prominent Lancaster County family ; and his maternal grandfather, John Wein, was an influential citizen of the old borough of
Lancaster, a scrivener by occupation, and at one time private secretary of Gen. Hand, who was one of Washington's staff during the Revolutionary War. Peter Forney conducted an extensive manu- facturing establishment at Lancaster, Pa., and served in the War of 1812, marching to the defense of Baltimore as first lieutenant of the "Lancaster Phalanx." His death occurred at the age of thirty- five years, and his widow was left to sustain herself and two small children, principally upon the pro- duct of her own industry. She had much of self- reliance and of common sense and proved equal to the emergency. About this time several educated men from New England, who had been engaged by the people of the place to effect a re-organization of their school system, opened a school in the upper story of the widow's house, and it was there that the boy, who as a man was destined to wield an important influence in the affairs of the Nation, began an cducation which was to extend through life, although it happened that the greater part of it was to be received in that school in which observa- tion and reflection arc the teachers, rather than in any of the schools organized under the laws of Pennsylvania. Col. Forney carried out his own success by strokes as patient and as potent as those needed to liberate a grand, symmetrical figure from a formless block of rugged granite. He sprang from the ranks of toil, and made his own way, without any aid but that of native talent and force of char- acter, to a commanding position. He was placed in a store when a small boy, but his tastes soon led him into a printing office-that of the Lancaster Journal. Thus while he was still a child he stood at the com- positor's case and worked at the old-fashioned hand press, though he soon began writing for the paper. Before he was of age he had made his mark and gave promise of a bright future. At twenty-two he had achieved a reputation as a trenchant writer and from that time his advance was rapid and brilliant. In 1837 he became the editor and joint-owner of the Lancaster Intelligencer, with which, in 1840, he united the Lancaster Journal, under the name of the Intelligencer and Journal, which he continued to publish until 1845, in which year he moved to Pliil- adelphia to serve as Surveyor of the Port, and engage in journalism. He came to the Pennsylva- nia metropolis with the prestige of an established reputation as well as great ability and a thorough equipment gained in the varied experiences of an editor. He had attained a wide-spread renown for ability as a writer and for the unwavering constancy with which he had advocated the principles of the Democratic party, in the then stronghold of the Whigs. In 1846 he became the owner and editor of
Informer
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the Philadelphia Pennsylvanian, and during his career as the director of that journal it gained a National reputation by reason of the vigor, incisive- ness and breadth of thought displayed in its political articles. Every political question of the day was boldly met and fearlessly handled, and Mr. Forney soon became, in popular estimation, the oracle of the party in Pennsylvania. Hc remained in control of this journal until he was elected Clerk of the House of Representatives in 1851. He had been a candidate for this office in 1849 and received the caucus nomination of the Democratic members, who were then in a majority, but owing to the defcction of some members of the party who voted in the House for the Wliig candidate, he was defeated, much to the indignation of his friends. Hc was re-elected in 1853 and performed the duties of the office most satisfactorily. The Congress of 1855 was controlled by the opposition, but owing to the party divisions no one united party had a clear majority. A protracted struggle ensued for the control of the organization, and until a new Speaker was elected after several weeks of contest, Mr. Forney, by virtue of his office as Clerk of the House, was the presiding officer of the body. He won, in the discharge of the difficult and delicate duties thus imposed upon him, the universal respect of the members ; and his parliamentary ability and dignified and manly bearing were undoubtedly the means of averting many of those violent personal controversies or conflicts, which the bitter feeling then prevailing rendered natural and imminent. Hon. Humphrey Marshall of Kentucky, J. Morrison Harrison of Maryland, Robert F. Paine of North Carolina, Mark Toofton of Massachusetts and Lewis D. Campbell of Ohio, who were prominent opposi- tion members, besides a large number of Democrats, paid Mr. Forney a high tribute for the satisfactory manner in which he administered the office, and after Mr. Banks was sworn in as Speaker, the House, before adjourning, passed a resolution of thanks to him. Through the latter part of Mr. Fill- more's administration and during three years of Mr. Pierce's, Mr. Forney was editor of the Washington Union, a position which he finally resigned that he might devote his time to securing the nomination of
Mr. Buchanan to the Presidency, and, on being elected Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee at the State Convention of March 4, 1856, he bent every energy toward that end, un- ceasingly, until it was attained, and then labored zealously until his candidate was elected. Prior to this the Union, as conducted by Col. Forney, was the administrative organ of President Pierce, and between the two men existed the closest friendly
relations. When Mr. Forney determined to aban- don his paper and devote himself to the interests of Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Pierce implored him most carn- estly not to make the sacrifice, or at least, to permit his name to remain at the head of the Union, but Mr. Forney remained deaf to the persuasions and continued to give his whole time and attention to the Buchanan cause, greatly to his own detriment, as the future showed, for one of the first acts of Buchanan was to appoint Mr. Appleton of Boston as editor of the Union. In January, 1857, Mr. Forney became a candidate for the United States Senate to succeed Hon. Richard Brodhead ; although he received the caucus nomination of his own party on the first ballot, he was defeated in the election by Simon Cameron. This singular and unprece- dented result was attributed to corruption in the Legislature ; in fact a Legislative inquiry disclosed the guilt of three Democratic members-Lebo, Wagonseller and Menear-whose infamous sale of their votes startled the American people with the disgraceful revelation that for the first time a United States Scnatorship had become a purchasable office. Mr. Forney felt keenly this flagrant wrong. Al- though but forty years of age, he had lost the assured promise of a brilliant public career in the councils of the Nation, and the possibility, as well, of still greater political triumphs. Already promi- nent in public affairs, possessing eloquence of speech and a commanding presence, as well as a thorough knowledge of the persons and events of that day, it is not an idle conjecture to say that he would have been a conspicuous figure on the floor of the Senate, in the turbulent debates that preceded
the War of the Rebellion. But perfidious treachery stopped this rising tide, and the ebbing current carried him back, fortunately perhaps, into the ranks of journalism. He remained inactive for a few months, declining several lucrative political positions tendered him by President Buchanan ; and in August, 1857, again brought his energies into activity by establishing, in Philadelphia, The Press, an independent Democratic paper, which from the
very outstart was one of the most successful papers of the country, and was conducted with the vigor and ability which were to be expected from its dis- tinguished founder. The Press, up to the time of the adoption of the Lecompton Constitution and the effort to secure the admission of Kansas into the Union under it, warmly supported Mr. Buchanan's administration, but as Mr. Forney resolutely op- posed that measure, the friendly relations so long
existing between the two were strained. The
struggle which followed now has a conspicuous place in the history of the country. Nearly all of
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the administration candidates for Congress, in the Northern States, were defeated at the election of 1857, on the issues raised by Mr. Forney, and in Pennsylvania but two were elected. Mr. Forney supported only those candidates who were faithful to the doctrine of popular sovereignty, and main- tained the ground he had taken as an anti-Lecomp- ton Democrat. Thus it came about that he whose ardent and untiring excrtions, guided by a remark- able political sagacity, had fairly forced the nomi- nation of Mr. Buchanan, and who in turn had been the chief instrument and most prominent figure in the success of his election, very soon after the beginning of the administration, became one of the leaders of an open warfare upon him, or more prop- erly, on the principles he had espoused. He was too strong in his convictions, both of right and policy, to hestitate between the advocacy of his political creed and his political friend. Having once entered upon the struggle he never abandoned it, until, with others whose names are illustrious in history, he had the satisfaction of retiring victorious. The Press was one of the great powers in shaping and develop- ing the force of public opinion, especially in the Democratic party, so as to make the North the dom- inant section, both in the civil and martial battles against the extension of slavery, and in organizing and bringing into the ranks a great mass of citizens of that party having little of political fellowship with the Republicans except in the one great idea of opposing the pro-slavery sentiment of the South. The warfare of The Press upon the pro-slavery wing of the party was bold, aggressive and unrelenting, for Col. Forney was a conscientions Free Soiler. Being convinced that the Northern Democracy had voted with the party to transfer the slavery agita- tion from Congress to the people of the Territory of Kansas, and becoming convinced that in the depar- ture from that idea the Southern wing of the party, then the controlling one, had proclaimed itself a fraud and cheat, he severed his allegiance from it and from the administration, and endeavored to effect the election of Stephen A. Douglas, with whom nearly the whole Northern Democracy seemed to agree upon the question of slavery in the Territories. His belief in the policy and absolute right of freedom, based primarily upon the broad ground of humanity and justice, which was ever a dominating characteristic of Col. Forney's mind, led him into the most zealous support of " bleeding Kan- sas " during the troublesome ante-bellum days, and he finally passed by the inexorable logic of natural sequences into the ranks of the Republican party. The very moment that the Federal authority was threatened with violence, the great journalist ex-
erted his every energy for the maintenance of the integrity of the Union. Not only was his influence exerted strenuously and effectively through the . columns of The Press in Philadelphia, but the Sun- day Chronicle, which he had founded in Washington was converted into a daily, and made a potential engine of warfare against the advocates of disrup- tion and secession. It became the organ of the ad- ministration, and one of the strongest supporters of the authority of the Government ; and Col. Forney became not only the political, but the intimate per- sonal friend of President Lincoln, as well as of every member of his Cabinet. He lived at the National Capital from 1859 to 1870, and was again the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the XXXVIth Congress, serving from 1859 to 1861. In the latter year he was elected Secretary of the United States Senate, and held that position un- til 1868, when he resigned in order to devote his en- tire time to journalism. Not only his prominence and strong influence as a journalist, but official position, gave him a deep insight into the chief af- fairs of the Nation at the most momentous period of its history, and his mere personal qualities, staunch- ness of character, unswerving devotion to principle and ardent advocacy of what he believed to be right, won for him the admiration and warin friend- ship of those who were, during that period and the preceding years, either the heroic and the useful men, or at least, the conspicuous of the Nation. Not only was he the familar friend and confidential counsellor of President Lincoln, but he was on terms of the most intimate association with Secre- tary Stanton, Senator Summer, Thaddeus Stevens, Daniel S. Dickinson, Lewis Cass, Benjamin F. Wade, Gen. Grant, Gen. Meade, Gen. Sheridan, John Hickman, Henry Winter Davis, Howell Cobb, John C. Breckenridge, Jefferson Davis, Alexander H. Stephens, Judah P. Benjamin, Owen Lovejoy, Salmon P. Chase, William Pitt Fessenden, Hannibal Hamlin, James G. Blaine, William H. Seward, and a host of others. It was this intimate and exten- sive acquaintance with public men and with public affairs which made him a phenomenally interesting and influential writer, and gave especially to his " Occasional Letters "-of which some one has said, " they literally beamed with hope even in the dark- est hours of defeat, and cheered many a despond- ing heart when the cause of the Union looked dark and hopeless,"-this singular effectiveness. During the war and the reconstruction period, Col. Forney was one of the most potential factors in the control of civil affairs, and one of the wisest conservators of the true interests of the people. As such, he has left the impress of his career upon the country. In
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1870 he sold the Washington Chronicle, and again took up his residence in Philadelphia. He now gave almost his whole attention to the editorship of The Press, and wrote from time to time as oppor- tunity afforded his racy "Anecdotes of Public Men," which have been reprinted in book form and are a mine of wealth to the explorer of the inner history of American politics. He also served for about a year as Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, to which position he was appointed by President Grant, but which he resigned, after proving himself an admirable officer, not caring at that time to re- main encumbered with the duties of official place. It may be mentioned that in this position one of the things that he accomplished was the conversion, from a dead letter to a living reality, of the system of direct transportation of imports in bond to any part of the country, without inspection or appraise- ment at the port of original entry-a measure of practical utility and of great convenience to the mercantile interests of the interior. In 1875 Col. Forney was honored, and the people of Philadel- phia and the industrial interests of the whole coun- try largely benefitted, by his appointment as a Com- missioner of the Centennial Exposition. He went abroad in this capacity-a former European tour, in 1867, largely qualifying him for usefulness in that field-and it was in a great measure through his herculean labors in several foreign countries that the interest of their leading people was enlisted in the Exposition, and an immense impetus given to that wonderful celebration of a century's growth. He also performed valuable services for the same cause at home, and in fact there was no more un- tiring or zealous promoter of the enterprise, and no one who accomplished more in its interests than he. This was only one way in which he served the city of his residence. He was a most staunch Philadel- phian, and every measure tending towards the bet- terment of its condition, material or moral, had the support of his pen and tongue and purse. In this respect he was a model and most loyal and patriotic citizen. In October, 1877, came the retirement of the veteran cditor from active journalism, and the sale of The Press, which he had owned and con- ducted with signal ability and success for twenty years, after an active and useful career of a score of years in Lancaster journalism. During these forty years the most varied and important consti- tutional and economic measures of the century had been before the people for discussion, and upon every one of them Col. Forney had been a sin- cere and forceful disputant, and, therefore, his re- tirement was a matter of moment, and called forth many memories from those who had been friends
and foes in bitterly contested political caucuses and journalistic debates upon various public measures, but all were apparently from those who were per- sonally friendly to the retiring Nestor. The papers of the city and of the country at large, without re- gard to party position or past conflicts, all expressed regret that the profession was to lose one of its brightest shining lights and ablest exponents. The feeling of Col. Forney himself was set forth in his "Farewell" published in The Press, from which we quote, as it is eminently characteristic and de- scriptive of the man :
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